Drug boxes are designed to be carried by an emergency care giver to a victim suffering a medical emergency and used under cramped conditions in helicopters, ambulances, boats and other types of mobile emergency vehicles. In many instances, treatment of the victim must be rendered under hostile conditions, one element of which may be cold temperatures.
When the weather is cold, it is important that the medical supplies carried in the drug box be kept at working temperature. For example, I. V. solutions used to treat the victim for shock or loss of blood should be administered at near body temperature to prevent further core temperature drop during treatment. It is also necessary to keep other medical supplies warm to maintain their effectiveness.
The heated drug boxes known in the past have a heated main compartment accessible through a hinged top. When the medical supplies usually required first (i. e., I. V. solutions) are removed, all of the other medical supplies are exposed to the environment (e. g., rain, theft and other hostile conditions). In addition, it is difficult to open the drug box wide enough under cramped conditions to get the necessary medical supplies out.
In view of the above, there is a need for a heated drug box for transporting emergency drugs and I. V. solutions wherein the medical supplies usually required first are easily accessible without opening up the box entirely. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a heated drug box wherein medical supplies usually required first are accessible through door means in the side of the box. Other objects and features of the invention will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter, the scope of the invention being indicated by the subjoined claims.